Čupić and Penezić awarded Croatia's Players of the Year

HC Vive Targi Kielce's Ivan Čupić and HC Krim's Andrea Penezić have been named Croatia's 2012 Handball Players of the Year.

The announcement was made on the fringes of the test match between Croatia's men's national team and Norway on Monday (7 January).

Slavko Goluža, head coach of the men's national team and VELUX EHF Champions League side Zagreb, received the accolade for the best coach in 2012.

ehfCL.com talked to Ivan Čupić, current top scorer in the VELUX EHF Champions League with 49 goals about playing handball for Kielce, their European campaign as well as about Croatia heading to the 2013 World Championship in Spain.

ehfCL.com: You transferred from the German side Rhein-Neckar Löwen to Poland this year. How are you enjoying life in Kielce?

Ivan Čupić: It's very good, the situation is nice. We have a really great team and we have recorded some positive results during the first half of the season, so the atmosphere is also good. We're currently first in Group C and I'm sure that we can achieve a lot this year.

I think that we can even reach the Champions League FINAL4 and then it's just one match, where anything is possible. We just want to continue to play well in the Champions League as well as in the Polish League and results will come.

ehfCL.com: Which teams do you see as favourites in the VELUX EHF Champions League this season?

Ivan Čupić: As I said, I think that we can surprise and there are some other teams that can do the same, but I believe that the main favourites are always the same.

We have Kiel and Barcelona who are doing great this season, and Atletico have had some problems at the beginning, but I believe that they will play an important role, too.

ehfCL.com: 2012 was a huge year for the national team after bronze at EHF EURO in Serbia and at the Olympics in London.

Ivan Čupić: Yes, they were both great achievements. In the end, we were the only team that reached the podium in both competitions, though I still feel sorry that we didn't go for gold.

We were playing very good handball, perhaps the best out of all the teams, but it was one match, in the semi-final, at the EURO against Serbia and at the Olympic Games against France, that we didn't play to our potential and lost.

Once again, we have a very good team and we are not short of motivation. The preparations have been very tough this time and we can't wait for World Championship to start.

ehfCL.com: Who do you think the toughest opponents for Croatia in Spain will be?

Ivan Čupić: The hosts always play well and Spain have a very good team, I think that they will go far. France and Denmark are always strong and there are bound to be some surprises.

The competition system has changed and it gives you no time to relax. You have to win every game after the group stage to become champions, and for that you need both mental and physical strength. I think we have it and that we are ready for the next great achievement.